|
|
Social Investments
Some time back at a conference in London, a fellow translator shared with me and everyone else in earshot that she was done using Twitter as a professional tool. She claimed to have invested way too much effort and time with virtually no return. (I assume that I could have overheard a similar discussion about Facebook, LinkedIn, Xing, Google Plus, or any other social network.) I’ve been thinking about this ever since, wondering how much I’ve benefitted from my investments into social media (which are pretty much limited to a very active presence on Twitter and much less active participation on LinkedIn). To make it short: I have benefitted and continue to benefit. A lot.
There are many, many places where you can find information about what to do and what not to do on social networks, but I would suggest three considerations as an over-arching strategy for translation professionals. First, pre-determine what you want to achieve on any or all of these networks. For instance, if you "just" want to build relationships with colleagues, you might want to engage yourself within certain Facebook or LinkedIn groups. If you also want to interact with the outside world, you might want to use Twitter and a slightly different strategy on LinkedIn, Google Plus, or Facebook. Next, specify how much time you want to spend every day. For example, I have found deep involvement in some of the discussions on LinkedIn too time-consuming, but my Twitter activities easily fit within, say, 20 minutes a day. Lastly, decide if and how you plan to separate your private from your professional life (yes, yes, many translators can only dream of a private life...). I tend to un-follow folks who make a regular habit of sharing their dinner plans or levels of fatigue (they’re always tired and overworked anyway!), but others seem to like it. Essentially, you determine who will follow you by what you share and how you share it. Your very close translator-buddies are most likely going to follow you either way, but the idea of social networking as a professional is to make that circle larger by having others see what you have to say as well. Where to start? Look at some folks who are successfully using one or more of those media. See what they have to say, who is following them, and whom they follow. And for Twitter, be sure to check out Jeromobot, the patron saint of the modern translator . ;-)
Published - February 2014
E-mail this article to your colleague! Need more translation jobs? Click here! Translation agencies are welcome to register here - Free! Freelance translators are welcome to register here - Free! |
|
|
Legal Disclaimer Site Map |